


The Corpse Husband

by heytheregisela



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Mavin AU, Multi, RageHappy, corpse bride AU, pretty much only implied freewood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-22 02:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2490569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heytheregisela/pseuds/heytheregisela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Michael and Lindsay are arranged to get married, but while out trying to learn his vows, Michael accidentally proposes to a dead Gavin. Now he has to decide on whether he can actually go through with this strange marriage and possibly become part of the dead as well, or if he should leave and marry the one he was supposed to in the first place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested for me to write and I couldn't say no!!! I rewatched Corpse Bride and basically wrote this while listening to it, because I did want to keep a lot of the same things while making it different. It was so much fun. The ending is definitely not the same as the movie's, at least not completely.

Michael smiled as carefully touched up his drawing – filling in the little parts that needed more detail, and that was it. It was finished. He sat back and admired it; a quick and simple drawing of a butterfly he had seen fluttering around outside earlier. He couldn't resist not drawing it, especially since it had such remarkable wings and color. He looked away from the drawing and out his window to see the town clock's hands move to exactly four (four PM to be exact) causing his smile to falter.

_Every last little thing,  every single tiny microscopic little thing must go... according to plan!_

“Michael!” He heard his mother call. “It's time for us to go, dear! We don't want to be late. That won't look right to them!”

Michael sighed and put his ink pen down before forcing himself up. He brushed off his suit jacket and tightened his tie as he looked himself in the mirror. His glasses put away and his hair was combed to the side which was something he always hated – especially because his curls tried their hardest to break free – but his mother had told him to look his best. He was getting ready to go to a wedding rehearsal – _his_ wedding rehearsal. Something about that didn't sound right, and perhaps it was because it _wasn't_ right. Yet here he was, with no choice but to go anyway, and having to meet a girl he had never met or seen before... and then marry her.

“Michael!” His mother called again, snapping Michael out of his thoughts.

Clearing his throat, Michael made his way out of his bedroom and down the corridor that led to the stairs. His parents were already heading out the door and into the carriage. Michael took one step down and looked back at the door that led to the sanctuary of his room.

“It's a beautiful day,” Mrs. Jones commented as she made her way down the front steps.

“It's a rather nice day,” Mr. Jones simply responded.

The two got into the carriage and smiled at each other. This had been the time they'd been waiting for; to be saved from the poor life they were slowly heading to. Michael would be marrying into a wealthy family and they'd all be okay again.

 

* * *

 

“It's a terrible day,” Lady Tuggey said in disgust as she looked out her bedroom window.

“Now, don't be like that,” Lord Tuggey told her, but she turned away and scoffed.

“I cannot believe we will be marrying off our only daughter for money.”

Lord Tuggey started heading for the door and his wife followed behind, just as displeased as he was.

“It had to happen someday,” he said to her.

“It couldn't be worse.”

“Couldn't be worse?” He asked her. “I have to disagree. What if they are penniless as we are?”

Lady Tuggey halted in her tracks and stared wide eyed at her husband; he also stopped walking to face her and she shook her head frantically.

“No,” she said sternly, “That cannot be. Everything shall go according to plan.”

Lord Tuggey sighed quietly, but the two of them continued their walk towards their daughter's bedroom. Their daughter – Lindsay Tuggey – was still getting ready with the help of their maid. She was looking at herself in her mirror, checking her hair for any little flaws, and she gasped suddenly as her corset was tightened. Maybe if her corset was tight enough she wouldn't be able to feel the nerves filling her stomach more and more by the second.

“What if Michael and I don't like each other?” She asked, seeing how her face looked horrified.

“Oh, please, girl,” she heard her mother, so she turned to face the woman and saw her standing in the doorway with her father.

“Marriage has nothing to do with that. Why, do you think your father and I _like_ each other?”

Lindsay blinked. “You must like each other, at least a little bit. How else have you two made it work all this time?”

“We've managed our very best,” her father answered before sending his wife a look of distraught, and she returned it. Lindsay furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to the mirror.

“Now hurry up,” her mother said, “They'll be here soon.” As she heard them walk away, she sighed in defeat.

What was the point in marriage if there were no feelings?

Mr. and Mrs. Tuggey made their way down the wide staircase, both wearing the same expressions on their faces – ones far from friendly, but they couldn't bring themselves to care much.

Their butler hurried to the door at the sound of the door bell ringing. He opened the door to reveal a family of three; the father standing off to the side as the mother straightened up her son's tie and jacket while he wore a look of misery.

“Stand up like a proper boy,” the woman scolded her son and he obliged. “You don't want them-”

“Dear,” Mr. Jones called to her, and Mrs. Jones looked over to see that the door had been opened.

“Oh!” She laughed.

The three of them made their way inside the mansion, looking up and everywhere as the examined the place, specifically Mrs. Jones, who was more than amazed by everything inside.

“Oh, it's so lovely,” Mrs. Jones whispered to her husband, her eyes wide with awe.

“Our place is much better,” Mr. Jones whispered back.

“Oh, shut up,” Mrs. Jones gently swatted him with her fan.

“Lord and Lady Tuggey,” the butler spoke as he stood between the pairs. He gestured towards Michael's parents as he introduced them, “Meet Mr. and Mrs. Jones.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Mr. Jones said to the Lords. He held his gaze on Lady Tuggey and smiled sheepishly. “You must be Lindsay; why, you don't look any older than my son!”

Lady Tuggey rolled her eyes and looked down at her husband to find the scowl remaining on his face.

“Smile, darling,” she whispered to him.

Lord Tuggey did as best as he could and barely twitched one corner of his mouth upwards.

“Welcome,” he greeted, “We are so... _happy_ to have you here.”

Mrs. Jones giggled to herself. “We are excited to be here.”

“Come,” Lady Tuggey nodded towards behind the staircase, “We shall be having tea this way.”

“Why, of course!”

The four of them started to make their way in that direction and Mrs. Jones continued to gush about everything she saw in sight, complimenting Lady Tuggey on the interior design. Michael stayed behind and merely listened to their voices become further and further, even with the echo, and then they were completely out of sight. He huffed and walked over to the piano up against the wall. It looked rather old and like it hadn't been used in months, so he couldn't help himself when he gently pressed down on one of the keys. Hearing how loud the echo made it sound, he looked around to make sure he really was alone. He smiled and sat down in front of it before beginning to play one of the few songs he actually learned to play on his own. The piano appeared to be old, but it played like a charm, and Michael was more than pleased.

Lindsay was brushing away some of the small hairs that kept sticking out from her bun, but she stopped as the music caught her attention. A smile crossed her face because she couldn't recall the last time she heard such beautiful music being played in the house. She quickly got up and headed out of her bedroom. As she neared the staircase, she spotted sight of the piano player, and she gasped quietly. That had to be Michael.

Her smile increased and she continued to make her way towards him. Michael was getting to his favorite part of song when he caught sight of the girl standing next to him.

“Holy sh-” He stopped himself from yelling out, but he did jump right up to his feet from having been startled, and he managed to knock over the small bench in the process.

Lindsay covered her mouth to hold back a laugh. “I'm so sorry,” she mumbled, but then she put her hand down and went on to say, “I didn't mean to scare you.”

“No, no!” Michael shook his head. “Let _me_ apologize. I shouldn't have been making myself so comfortable. It's not my house and I was...” he looked down at the piano and sighed. “ _I'm_ sorry.” He bent down and picked up the bench, feeling more embarrassed than ever. This was Lindsay – _the_ Lindsay – and he had just made a complete fool out of himself.

“You play beautifully,” Lindsay said to him.

Michael stood back up and smiled softly at her. “Ah, well... I've heard better.” He looked around them and saw that they were still alone. “Don't you have an escort or something, Lady-”

“Please,” Lindsay cut him off as she held up hand, “Call me Lindsay.”

Michael smiled again, “Okay, Lindsay. Uh... we're going to... be, uh...”

“We're going to be married tomorrow,” she finished for him.

“Yeah, that.”

Lindsay sighed and she sat down on the bench and pressed down a piano key, although she had no idea how to play anything.

“When I was a little girl, I always pictured myself finding someone that I'd fall _madly_ in love with, and then we'd get married, have ourselves a family, and grow old together.” She looked down at her hands and smiled. “Stupid, right?”

“Yeah, very stupid,” Michael casually agreed, although he hadn't meant to. The nerves running through him was making concentrating a bit difficult, and the fact that Lindsay was more beautiful than he could ever imagine wasn't helping. “Uh, I mean... no! It's not stupid. It's not stupid at all!” He laughed nervously.

Lindsay also laughed, but not nervously.

“It's okay, Michael,” she said to him after regaining herself and Michael grinned at her. “I understand what you meant and I-”

“What is this?!” The two jumped and turned to find Lady Tuggey standing in the hallway, staring at them with utter disgust.

“You two should _not_ be alone, it is _not_ proper,” she snapped at them. “It's a minute 'til five and you two are still not at rehearsal!” Lindsay frowned and Michael pursed his lips. “Oh, for heaven's sake. Let's move this along. Pastor Sorola is already waiting for us.”

Lindsay looked at Michael apologetically before making her way towards her mother. Michael hesitated a bit, wanting nothing but to leave, though he did manage to make himself follow the two.

They all found themselves in a rather small room where Pastor Sorola waited for them behind a table and resting on the table were three candles and a cup. Michael immediately noticed how one of the candles was lit.

The parents took their seats and watched as Michael and Lindsay made their way in front of the table. Pastor Sorola raised an eyebrow as he looked over Michael, but he sighed and picked up one of the candles.

“I'm going to demonstrate what you have to say while also saying your vows, and you will have to repeat right after me,” Sorola explained.

Michael nodded and cleared his throat. Pastor Sorola lifted up the candle and began.

But it was two hours later that they still found themselves standing in that same room, doing the same thing _again_ , because Michael just couldn't get his vows down.

Mrs. Jones shifted in her seat and looked worryingly at her husband, but Mr. Jones merely kept his eyes on his son. Lord and Lady Tuggey were becoming more impatient by the second, though they said nothing about it.

Pastor Sorola huffed, but he tried keeping calm as he spoke, “Master Jones, again from the beginning.” Michael took a deep breath, so Sorola proceeded to repeating the lines, “With this hand, I will lift your sorrows,” the words sounded so bitter now, “Your cup will _never_ empty...” Pastor Sorola almost rolled his eyes there, “... for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness.”

Michael loosened his tie a bit as it was starting to feel too tight, but he continued to listen to Pastor Sorola, “With this ring, I ask you to be mine.” Sorola squinted his eyes at Michael. “Your turn.”

“Yeah, okay, got it,” Michael mumbled. He picked up one of the unlit candles again and slightly turned his body to face Lindsay better, “With this candle,” he paused to lit the candle with the one already lit, but nothing happened. Furrowing his eyebrows, Michael tried again, “With this candle...” but nothing.

He knew everyone was staring at him with the same disappointed and dull expressions, and just knowing that was making not being able to light the candle even more difficult.

Michael sighed quietly as he attempted again, “This candle...” but the damn thing wouldn't get lit. He nervously looked over his shoulder to see the expressions he had imagined.

“Go on up there and do it for him,” he heard his mother whisper to his father.

“Now, now, dear,” his father whispered back, “He'll get it eventually.”

Michael shifted his focus over to Lord and Lady Tuggey to find them scowling at him.

 _Oh, crap,_ Michael thought as he swallowed thickly. Pastor Sorola cleared his throat loudly and Michael turned back to find that the candle was finally lit. _Fucking finally_.

Michael smiled and stood up straight, “With this candle,” he breathed out a laugh, though, from how relieved he was, and that breath had the fire go out. His eyes widened and groans were heard from behind.

“Just continue, _please_ ,” Pastor Sorola said.

Lindsay bit down on her lower lip as she quickly lit her own candle and then Michael's.

“Go on,” she whispered to him.

Michael opened his mouth to do so, but then the door bell rung throughout the house.

“Answer it!” Lord Tuggey said to his butler and his butler was off to oblige.

“Michael, please,” Pastor Sorola spoke.

“With this candle, I will-”

“A Lord Haywood, sir,” the butler said to Lord Tuggey as he handed him a note card.

Michael and Lindsay looked over their shoulders.

“Haywood?” Lord Tuggey asked, an eyebrow raising as he tried remembering that name. “Hmm, let him in.”

“Yes, sir,” and the butler was off again.

Nobody spoke. They all merely waited for the arrival of this mysterious Haywood character. The doors opened not too long after and in entertained a man with dark blond hair that appeared wavy and neatly pulled aside. He was dressed in very expensive looking clothing and seemed to be proud of it from the way he strutted his way into the room.

“Sorry if I'm late,” he spoke, seeming anything but sorry, “I have a bad habit of not knowing particular dates.”

Lord Tuggey leaned close to his wife and asked, “Is he part of your family?”

“Hmm, I'm not sure,” Lady Tuggey answered, although she snapped her fingers and asked that a chair be brought for Lord Haywood.

Lord Haywood smiled as he sat down, but Michael and Lindsay continued to stare at him, more baffled than anyone else apparently was.

“Carry on,” the mysterious man said as he waved them off and sat back in the chair.

“Let's try this _again_ ,” Pastor Sorola told Michael.

Michael licked his lips. “Yes, sir,” he whispered as he held up the candle with his right hand. That earned him a glare from Pastor Sorola.

“Right,” Pastor Sorola simply said.

“Yeah, right,” Michael nodded, but since that glare wouldn't leave the pastor's face, Michael realized what he was doing wrong. “Oh!” He quickly switched the candle to his left hand and held up his right.

“With this...” he paused and squinted his eyes, “uh, candle?”

“ _Hand_ ,” Pastor Sorola corrected him, his face becoming red from frustration.

“With this hand,” Michael repeated. He looked at Lindsay and gently grabbed her hand before they started taking their steps forward, “With this hand, I will... uh...”

Pastor Sorola slammed his hand down on the table, causing the cup of wine to shake.

“Goodness, boy, do you _not_ want to be married?” He asked Michael.

“No!” Michael quickly responded and Lindsay frowned.

“You don't want to marry me?” She asked.

“What?” Michael turned to her. “No, I do! I meant 'no' to what he said-”Pastor Sorola slammed his hand down again and Michael jumped.

“Let's just move on,” the older man said. “Did you at least remember to bring the ring?”

Michael scoffed and let go of Lindsay's hand to dig the ring out of his pocket. “Of course,” he said proudly, but as he took it out and held it up with two fingers, it slipped out of his grip.

Everyone in the room gasped and Pastor Sorola made a frustrated noise to prevent himself from screaming. Michael quickly ran over to get it, but in process, he tripped and dropped the candle as well. Keeping his eyes on where the ring landed, he didn't realize the candle fell right near Lady Tuggey's dress, and he didn't see how the dress immediately caught on fire; he was much too concentrated on getting that ring.

Lady Tuggey's eyes widened and she began to panic by shaking the end of her dress.

“ _Oh no_ ,” Mrs. Jones shrieked. She jumped up from her seat and tried fanning the flames away as Lord Tuggey started stomping on them.

Michael grinned as he picked up the ring and stood back up on his feet.

“I got it!” He called happily, but that's when he turned around and finally noticed the chaos. “Oh... shit.”

“I hope this doesn't leave a mark on your pretty dress,” Mrs. Jones said to Lady Tuggey.

Lady Tuggey glared at the woman, “Stop fanning it! You're only making it worse!”

“Oh, I'll put this fire out,” Lord Tuggey said as he stomped harder.

Nobody even paid attention to Lord Haywood, who had walked over to the table, grabbed the cup of wine, and walked over to Lady Tuggey. They didn't look at him at all until he poured the liquid onto her dress and fire went out instantly.

Now they were gaping at him, but he merely smirked.

“That was... interesting,” he stated.

“ _Michael_ ,” Pastor Sorola basically growled in anger. Michael turned to him with an apologetic look, because he knew he had ruined this whole thing. How did one bad thing turn into this?

“I will not marry you or this young lady until you can prove to me that you actually want this.”

Michael pursed his lips, but he nodded.

“Learn your vows, boy,” Pastor Sorola demanded.

“Yes, sir,” Michael said softly as he turned around and quickly headed out of there.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones sighed as they looked down in shame. Lindsay frowned and gently set the candle back on the table, but the feeling of someone staring at her had her turning her head to find Lord Haywood smiling deviously at her. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared back at him, but neither of them, and nobody else in the room, said a word.

 

* * *

 

Michael thought about going home and sleeping the rest of this terrible day away, but he knew he did have to go over his vows if he was expected to do better the next day.

“It's not that hard,” he mumbled to himself as he headed down a hike trail. “Damnit. Lindsay probably thinks I'm a complete idiot.” He shook his head and curled his fingers into tight fists.

“With this hand,” he started, “I will take your wine... no... that's not it.” Michael groaned, but he kept on walking. He _needed_ to get this right.

“With this candle, I will cut your-” he stopped himself there as he squinted his eyes. “-wait, what?! What am I even saying?!”

His walk was becoming long and he didn't even realize how deep into the woods he had become, but he was starting to find that he was getting his vows close.

“With this... with this candle! I will... I'll...” He sighed loudly and sat down on a nearby log. “I'll light your mother on fire...” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. “What's the use? I can't do this.” He ran his fingers through his hair, loosening his curls, and then he dug the ring out his pocket again and stared longingly at it. He then furrowed his eyebrows and stood back up.

“Damnit, I know this,” he grumbled, and then he swallowed hard. “With this hand, I will _lift_ your sorrows; your _cup_ will never empty, for _I_ will be your wine.” His eyes lit up, but he didn't stop speaking there – he was on a roll, “With this candle, I will light your way in darkness,” he walked over to a tree and saw a few thin branches sticking out from it. Holding up the ring, he smiled as he finished, “With this ring, I ask you to be _mine_ ,” he slowly placed the ring on one of the fragile branches.

His smile turned into a grin as he admired his work, and the fact that he managed to get through his vows without trouble. The wind started to pick up around him and he blinked as he looked over his shoulder. He could hear crows and he had to look up to see the source, but there wasn't just one, or two; there was _at least_ thirty of them.

Michael was staring up at them in awe when he felt something grab his hand. He jumped and looked back to find what appeared to be a boney, skinless hand (what he previously thought to be mere tree branches) holding onto him.

“What the hell!” He screamed as he tried yanking himself free. It took some struggle, but he flung backwards and away from the “branches”.

“Oh god,” he breathed out, but when he still felt something grabbing him, he lifted up his arm to find the hand had not let go. The hand was not the only thing Michael had pulled out – the skinless arm it belonged to came with it.

“What the fuck!” Michael shrieked as he grabbed the arm and threw it aside. He was ready to jump up and run, but the sight of another hand coming out from the ground left him frozen there as he watched. Following the hand was a head and following that was... an _entire body_.

Michael's jaw was dropped wide open and his heart pounded furiously in his chest, yet he couldn't bring himself to move. The man that had just came out from the ground looked up at Michael and Michael held his breath from fright as he stared at the pale skin that was slightly peeling off and also... _rotting_?

The corners of the man's dry lips rose as he whispered, “I do.”

“Wh-wha,” was all Michael could get out before he found the courage to get to his feet. He turned and took off as fast as he could, though his legs felt shaky and his head was spinning.

The man tilted his head and began going after Michael. Michael dared himself to sneak a glance back and in that moment, he tripped over a tree's root and fell right on his face.

 _Oh, god... please don't be there... please don't be there. Please tell me I'm really at home and this is a fucked up dream._ _ **Please**_ _._ Michael lifted his face off the ground and slowly turned his head.

The man was slowly approaching him and Michael opened his mouth to scream, but only a mere squeak came out. As the man got closer, Michael was able to get a better look at him; green eyes that lacked all life in them, a long nose, and wild, ashy blond hair that currently had dirt and leaves stuck to it. Trembling too much to get up, Michael's eyes wandered down to see the stranger's attire and he raised an eyebrow questioningly to see how the man was wearing a suit, much like the one Michael was planning to wear at his wedding – a wedding he'd probably never be able to attend to now, because this was the end and he knew it.

The man was now only inches from Michael and he saw he raised his boney hand, Michael noticed that his arm had been reattached, and that only made him tremble more. His lower lip was quivering from fear as the man grabbed his arm and started pulling him up to his feet. And Michael let it happen, because he was too scared to do anything; he could barely breathe.

Now face-to-face, the man smiled again, but it wasn't evil. The smile wasn't harsh at all. It was sweet and genuine, but Michael didn't care since he was starting to see black spots.

“You may now kiss me,” the man spoke softly before he leaned in. The second Michael felt those thin, dry lips against his, everything went black and he became stiff; his eyes closed just before he fell into the man's arms.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly wanted to post these chapters out separately since they're done already, but I couldn't get chapter eighteen of As We Are done so here's this!! I don't know... I felt the need to post something haha and people really seem to like this, so I thought "Why not?" :D

Michael slowly opened his eyes, but it took his vision a bit to get into focus, and once it did, the terrifying faces came into view. It was the man from the woods and a... skeleton? Michael's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the boney face, trying to figure out if he was truly seeing that or not.

“New arrival!” A blonde woman cheerfully said as she popped up behind the two monsters. She didn't look any older than Michael, but she had a face with rotting skin just like the man's.

Michael gasped and tried crawling away, but he was already up against the wall.

“You fainted,” the man clarified.

Michael blinked hard before looking at him again. This man also appeared to be young – horrifying, but young. And was that a British accent Michael heard?

Michael let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and almost everyone gasped.

“He's a breather,” the blonde girl whispered.

“A breather,” the skeleton said before looking over at the Brit with a grin, “Good job, man.” This skeleton had a funny look to him, besides the fact that he was a walking skeleton; he was wearing a black top hat and a simple black suit with a dead rose stuffed in his suit jacket's pocket.

The Brit smiled at him, then turned his attention back to Michael.

“What the hell am I doing here?” Michael finally managed to ask.

The Brit held out his hand and Michael felt himself freeze up for a second, but seeing that nobody was making a move to harm him, Michael took the man's hand and started getting to his feet. He practically stumbled over to the bar and looked over his shoulder to see that this _place_ was covered in creatures; they were skeletons, ghouls, and slowly rotting corpses, just like the blonde girl and the Brit. They were all minding their own business, having a good time as anyone would with friends in bars, and that might have been the creepiest part of all.

“To the newlyweds!” One of them then cheered, and everyone else held up their drinks. The Brit grinned and looked down as if he was shy with all the attention directed towards him and Michael.

“Wha- newlyweds?” Michael asked, his words sounding choked. Nobody gave him an answer; they merely continued on with their celebration. Michael took a deep, shaky breath and looked away.

“I have to be dreaming,” he said quietly.

“What was that?” The Brit asked.

Michael swallowed hard and started slapping his face with his hands. The Brit gaped as he watched, though he did nothing to stop Michael, because he wanted to realize that this was _real_.

“Wake up, you little shit,” Michael shouted as he gave himself one last rough slap across the face. He was breathing heavily now and slowly, he opened his eyes, but he didn't find himself in his bedroom. He was still in the bar and the dead man was still standing next to him.

“ _No_ ,” he groaned and looked down in disappointment.

“I think you need a drink,” the Brit said to him. He was turning to face the bartender when Michael grabbed hold of a sword's handle sticking out from a short man's body who was standing on the counter. His idea was to pull the sword free, but it was lunged tightly into this corpse, so he had no choice.

“Back the fuck off!” Michael shouted as he held the short man by the sword and faced the crowd of monsters.

They all took a step back and held their hands up in defense. The Brit's eyes widened as he watched. Michael glanced over at him with a stern look though that stern look was gone the moment a maggot popped out from the Brit's ear.

“He seems interesting; I can see why you chose him,” the maggot spoke and Michael cringed.

The Brit quickly pushed the maggot back into his ear and laughed nervously. “Maggots! They're ridiculous!”

Michael didn't even know how to respond to that. He was too freaked out and disgusted to say a thing. He turned back to the crowd instead.

“I've got this short guy and this sword,” he spoke, “and I'm not afraid to use them!”

The short guy raised what was left of his eyebrows and shot the blonde girl a begging look.

“That's not fair, put Kerry down,” the top hat skeleton said.

“I won't until I get something,” Michael told him. “Now, questions... I want questions!”

Kerry squinted his eyes as he thought over what Michael had just said. He glanced at him over his shoulder and said, “Uh, dude, I think you mean 'answers'.”

Michael glared at Kerry. “Fuck you. I knew what I meant.” Though he looked at the crowd again and nodded. “I want _answers_.”

“Fine, I'll give you your answers,” the top hat skeleton said as he made his way over to Michael. “Put Kerry down first.” Michael obliged and set the short man back on the counter.

“Alright,” the skeleton went on, “I'll start with my name. I'm Ray, and yeah, nice to meet me.” Ray walked over to the Brit's side and wrapped an arm around him. “This handsome young man is our very own corpse husband, but how he became that is quite an interesting story, and yes, I'm about to tell you it all.” Michael watched as Ray quickly headed to the stage on the other side of the bar.

Ray stood in front of the mic and grinned. “It's starts out with this mysterious guy coming into town; he's pretty much got it all – the looks, the money, and the charm. Our man here,” he gestured towards the Brit and Michael looked at him, “well see, he fell hard, but his parents didn't agree. They wouldn't let these two get married, so they planned to elope, to be together forever and live their own version of happily ever after.”

“It was supposed to happen at night, deep in the woods,” another skeleton said. This skeleton had a comical mustache, one that curled up at the ends and Michael looked at the Brit again.

“Okay, now who the fuck is that?” He asked, pointing at the skeleton.

“That's Geoff,” the Brit replied.

Michael's expression softened as he turned back to stare at Ray and _Geoff_.

“Our handsome buddy, his father's suit fit like a glove, because see, you don't need much when you're in love, except for a few things, or so I'm told,” Geoff continued as he stood right next to Ray and shared the mic, “like a few family jewels and maybe a satchel of gold, too, just in case. So at the graveyard, by the old oak tree at a quarter to three, he was ready to go, but where was his lover?”

“Alas, of tirelessly waiting for hours, he was ready to give up,” Ray explained, “until the sound of breathing had him spin around in fear, but what was creeping up on him wasn't who he expected.”

“Wasn't it even a _who_ at all?” Geoff asked.

Ray shrugged. “That's what we're all trying to figure out, but how the fate exactly happened is untold.”

“Our little corpse husband awoke here, jewels missing and heart broken, and he made a vow to wait underneath the very tree he was waiting at, to continue his wait for his _true love_ to return and set him free.”

“And you,” Ray said as he pointed at Michael, “are it.”

Michael's eyes widened and everyone turned their attention to him, but he practically jumped when they all started clapping.

“This calls for some music!” One of them shouted, which just got everyone to agree.

The music started to play as everyone began to dance together – wildly flinging each other around and laughing. Michael tried speaking, but his fast beating heart was making that task quite a challenge.

 _Don't fucking pass out again,_ he mentally told himself, _just breathe, Michael. Breathe._

He saw the Brit was distracted with talking to one of the monsters, so Michael took that opportunity and quickly dashed out of there, ducking under arms and flying around turns until he was on the staircase. He didn't slow his pace, though, because if there was an escape, he was going to find it.

The Brit looked back in time to see Michael fleeing out the door and he frowned.

“Where the bloody hell is he headed to?” He asked no one but himself before walking off to go after Michael.

 

* * *

 

Lindsay stared out the large window in the living room, her eyes hopefully scanning the streets she could see from there, but Michael was nowhere in sight.

“I'm sure he will be back soon,” Mrs. Jones told Lord and Lady Tuggey. “After all, he is afraid of the dark.” She looked at her husband and smiled at him. “Honey, tell them about the time Michael almost wet his pants because he thought the monster in the dark was going to-”

“Now, now, dear,” Mr. Jones stopped her, “I don't think that story is necessary to tell.”

“Ahem!” They all turned to find Lord Haywood standing in the doorway, arms crossed and smirk in place.

“Oh! Lord Haywood,” Lady Tuggey immediately got up from where she was sitting to properly greet the man. “I do apologize for the chaos earlier.”

“No need for that, but I do need to apologize for the terrible news I'm about to tell you all,” the man spoke as he sauntered his way further into the room.

“Terrible news?” Mrs. Jones asked.

“Yes, it _pains_ me to have to be the one to tell you, but if I don't, then you will _never_ know what happened to Michael-”

“Michael?!” Mrs. Jones jumped up from her seat, her hands on her chest as she stared wide eyed at Lord Haywood.

Lindsay was now interested, and worried, to hear this news. She walked closer to her mother and stood there as she waited for the strange man to speak.

“Go on, tell us,” Lord Tuggey said.

“Very well,” Lord Haywood sighed. He looked away slightly and frowned before he began to explain, “I was on my way home just now; I take a short cut through the woods, and I saw Michael with another man. They appeared to be _very_ friendly. I didn't see the other man's face, but it was clear that it was Michael.”

Lindsay's eyebrows twitched together and Lady Tuggey was gaping at the Lord Haywood.

Mrs. Jones was the one to say something first, “Another man? But Michael doesn't know anybody.” She looked at her husband for an answer.

“You're absolutely right; Michael doesn't know anyone but us,” Mr. Jones told her.

“Well, I saw what I saw, and I know my eyes were not playing tricks on me,” Lord Haywood said.

Lady Tuggey narrowed her eyes at Mr. and Mrs. Jones while Lord Tuggey sighed deeply in annoyance.

“Oh, no!” Mrs. Jones shook her head. “I'm _sure_ Michael will be back. Perhaps that man was a mere friend that he knew from a long time ago, and they probably went off for a walk to catch up. Oh! I'm almost certain Michael is going to invite him to the wedding tomorrow-”

“Wedding?” Lady Tuggey asked sternly. “What wedding? If Michael decided to run off, there shall be _no_ wedding.”

“Oh, don't say that,” Mrs. Jones pleaded, “At least give us until tomorrow at dawn.”

“Very well,” Lord Tuggey spoke.“But if Michael isn't back by then, there shall be no wedding.”

“What a shame for all the money we've wasted on this marriage,” Lady Tuggey mumbled mostly to her husband, but everyone else heard.

Lindsay sighed sadly and turned her attention back to the window. Michael wouldn't have just left her for someone else. She didn't know him well, but she knew he wouldn't be the type to do such a thing.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Michael had no idea where he was going once he left the bar, because _nothing_ outside looked familiar to him, and _everyone_ was just like the others inside – the living dead. He would scream and jump every time he almost ran into one of them, but none of them seem unfazed by him; they would merely apologize for being in his way and move on with what they were previously doing. It made Michael slow down a bit, because apparently they were friendly, but he still didn't like being there. He wanted to go home, to Lindsay, and to go through with his wedding to her, because an arranged marriage now seemed like the best thing in the world to him. Sure it wasn't fair that he didn't know her, but he would have time to fall in love with her later, because he could tell that wouldn't be problem.

“Michael!” He gasped when he heard the British man calling after him, and that was enough to make him return to his original speed.

The Brit had Michael in his sights, making him smile as he continued following him.

“Where are you going, you donut?!” He asked, but Michael only tried running faster.

The human almost slipped as he ran around corners one too many times and he cursed under his breath, because he knew those little mistakes were only going to make it easier for the corpse to catch up.

“Michael!”

Michael had to come to a halt before he ran right into another _man_.

“Oh, excuse me,” the dead man laughed, but when he and Michael both stepped to the left, the man cleared his throat and did the last thing Michael expected. He split himself in half and smiled, saying again, “Excuse me,” before walking off.

Michael stood there, frozen momentarily, but then the sound of the Brit shouting out his name reminded him of what he was trying to do.

“Shit,” he breathed out as he took off running again.

“Michael, love, wait for me,” the Brit said.

Michael could hear his heart pounding in his ears and he had to come to a stop again when he reached a dead end, although, his face lit up when he saw he could easily climb the wall.

“Michael!” He kept hearing, and it was in some sort of sing-song voice, but he continued to ignore as he began his way up the iron wall.

Halfway up, he looked over his shoulder to see if the corpse was in sight, but there was no one. Sighing in relief, he decided to relax and catch his breath.

“Okay, you're okay,” he told himself, but when he looked up, the Brit was staring down at him.

Michael opened his mouth to scream, but the other grabbed his arm and said, “You could have just used the stairs,” and Michael did nothing as he was pulled the rest of the way up.

When he was face-to-face with the corpse again, he frowned and decided there was no more use.

“Look at the view from up here!” The Brit shouted as he pointed towards it, and Michael hardly paid attention. “It takes my breath away. Well... it would if I had any,” he laughed like it was the funniest thing anyone could say.

Michael watched as he walked over to the bench nearby and sat down. He wanted to cringe when the Brit patted the spot next to him, but instead of refusing, Michael did walk over and sat down.

“Look,” Michael sighed, because if running didn't help, then he had to say something to get him out of this, “I'm sorry about what happened to you, but I can't be here. I need to go home.”

“You are home.”

Michael looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “But I don't even know your name.”

“ _Ooh_ , what a good start to a marriage,” the maggot inside the Brit's head joked, and the Brit slapped his own head to get the little creature to shut up.

Michael blinked and scooted away a bit.

The corpse smiled sweetly at him as he said, “It's Gavin.”

“Gavin,” Michael repeated with a nod, though knowing this stranger's name wasn't really helping anything.

Gavin's smile increased, but then his eyes brightened. “I almost forgot!” He bent over and reached for something underneath the bench while Michael merely sat still and watched.

“I got you a wedding present,” Gavin said as he held up a box with a simple green bow on it. Michael hesitated to take it, but seeing the eager look in Gavin's eyes, he couldn't say no.

“Well, uh, I didn't... I didn't get you anything,” Michael told him as he grabbed the box.

“That's alright, because I already have you,” Gavin said, his smile softening.

Michael licked his lips and looked down at the box. Did he really want to open it? Not at all, but he didn't want to be rude either. With fidgety fingers, Michael lifted the lid and gasped quietly to see bones and a skull inside. He picked it up one of the bones and frowned as he looked it over.

“Uh, thank... you?”

The box began to shake and Michael immediately dropped it and the bone. Gavin watched in amusement as the bone, along with many others, came together to form a skeleton of a small dog. Michael was gaping at the small dog, especially when it ran up to him, holding a collar in its mouth. Michael looked questioningly at Gavin, but Gavin urged him to go on. Michael took the collar from the dog's mouth and squinted his eyes as he read the name.

“Mogar?” He asked, and the dog barked excitedly. Michael had to think about it a bit before he remembered. “Mogar! Holy shit! My old dog, Mogar!” He held out his arms and allowed the small skeleton to jump onto his lap.

Gavin grinned as he watched the two reunite. “I knew you'd be happy to see him.”

“Go on, Mogar,” Michael said as he put the dog down, “Show me what you know. Sit, boy.” The dog barked and obliged. “Good boy! Alright now roll over, roll over!” Mogar did as he was told and Gavin laughed.

Michael tapped his chin as he tried thinking of another trick, “Oh! Play dead!” but Mogar tilted his head and whined a bit, making Michael realize his mistake. “Shi- I mean, damn... sorry,” he mumbled.

Gavin merely laughed again as Mogar hopped onto his lap.

“Aren't you a cutie?” Gavin asked the little dog.

Michael smiled as he stroked the skeleton, “Yeah, but you should have seen him with fur. He was adorable.” His smile slowly faltered and he sighed, “My mom hated him, and she never approved of him jumping up like this.”

Gavin looked at Michael and stopped petting the dog as he asked, “Do you think she would have approved of me?”

“You're just lucky you won't ever have to find to meet her,” Michael answered as he continued to play around with Mogar, but then he paused his movements as an idea came to mind. “Actually,” he put down the dog and turned his body to face Gavin better, “I think you should meet her, and my dad. I think they'd like you _very_ much.” He stood up from the bench and crossed his arms. “What do you say? Wanna go meet them right now?”

“Oh, that depends,” Gavin said as he got up as well. “Where are they buried?”

Michael's eyebrows knitted together as he frowned. “Oh, well... they're...” He turned away, because for some reason, it was a bit difficult to tell a dead person that his parents weren't dead.

“They're alive?” Gavin asked and Michael nodded. “Ah, well, I see how that would be a problem.”

Mogar began barking up at them and Gavin bent down to listen closely.

“What did you say, boy?” He asked the little creature and as Mogar continued to bark, Gavin nodded, “Oh, we couldn't possibly do that,” but then Mogar barked some more and Gavin raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“Well, when you put it that way.”

“What way?” Michael asked.

Gavin grinned and he stood back up and looked at Michael, “Mayor Burns.”

Michael raised his eyebrows, because the way Gavin had said the name in such a mysterious tone sent chills down Michael's back. Who was this Mayor Burns, and was he of any danger? Michael almost didn't want to find out, but he ended up finding himself following Gavin and Mogar towards an eerie looking tall tower that only made those chills increase.

They slowly made their way up the steps, well Michael did. Gavin and Mogar seemed anxious to get to the top as fast as they could; Michael simply trailed behind, because the closer they got, the more the thunder could be heard from outside.

“Mayor Burns?” Gavin called, or practically sung out, “Mayor burns?”

Mogar began to bark, causing Michael to jump, and Gavin immediately shushed the dog. They were only a few steps away from the top now and Michael was feeling the urge to turn back and run while he still could. And then Gavin gently grabbed his wrist and walked the rest of the way up with him, so Michael had no choice but to put on his bravest face. That bravery was quickly torn away when the chair spun around, because Michael had expected to see the most horrifying monster he had seen that night. What he was met with, though, was another corpse, one that looked as rotting as Gavin, but older and much more mature – definitely the face of a mayor in Michael's opinion.

Mayor Burns pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled at the two standing in front of him, “Good evening, Gavin!” He sure did sound friendly.

“Mayor Burns-”

“Gavin, please. I told you to call me Burnie; I _always_ tell you to call me Burnie.”

Gavin smiled apologetically at him and nodded, “Burnie, I came here to introduce to you my husband,” he gestured towards Michael and Michael gulped as he looked up at Burnie.

Burnie tilted his head a bit as he looked over Michael, but his eyes flickered back to Gavin as he asked, “Did you just say your _husband_?”

Gavin couldn't even help but grin as he took hold of Michael's hand, “Yes, my husband.”

Michael looked down at their hands making contact and took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to freak out over this situation.

Burnie squinted his eyes, seeming not to believe the whole ordeal, and Michael couldn't blame him, because he himself couldn't believe it, either. But then Burnie was smiling again.

“Well, congratulations!” He cheered. “Sorry I missed it. I'll be sure to send my gift to you two soon enough.”

“You don't have to get us anything,” Gavin assured him, waving him off with his other hand, but then he stopped and his eyes brightened, “Unless...”

Burnie raised an eyebrow at him, “Unless what?”

“You see, Burnie, Michael and I would like to go upstairs,” Gavin pointed up to the ceiling.

“Upstairs?”

“Yes.”

Burnie rubbed his chin as he stood up from his chair and started making his way down the little staircase made of books. Michael watched him and was surprised at how steady those books were, but once Burnie was standing next to them, he had the instant reaction to take many steps back. Gavin holding his hand was the only thing holding him back from doing so.

“Why would you want to go up there when people up there are just _dying_ to get down here?” Burnie asked them, an expression completely serious.

Gavin rolled his eyes and shook his head, “You've obviously been spending too much time around Barbara.”

“Shut up and answer my question.”

“It's just that... there's something we really have to do up there,” Michael explained, getting Burnie to face him, “and it would mean a lot to me-I mean, _us_... if we could.” Gavin nodded.

“Ah, but it's really risky and-”

“Burnie,” Gavin cut him off as he used his free hand to place on top of one of Burnie's, “you have to let us do this. Can you please make this one little exception? For me?” The corners of his mouth rose up into a smile that Michael had to admit was kind of cute. Surely a smile he wouldn't have been to say 'no' to, and that worried him a bit.

Burnie patted Gavin's hand as he nodded, “Yeah, sure. Consider this my wedding gift to you two lovebirds, then.” Michael cringed, but neither of them noticed.

Gavin gave Michael's hand a reassuring squeeze and Michael found himself staring down at them again.

Burnie started heading over to one of his many bookshelves, mumbling “No” every other book he would open. It went on like that for a while as Michael and Gavin just stood there and waited. Michael decided to take the time to look around the room, but a particular cat resting making its way up to Burnie's chair caught his attention. The cat wasn't fully filled with fur, but it had patches of orange fur and definitely looked more alive than Mogar did. Michael watched the cat hop onto the desk and how it made itself comfortable on the corner.

“That's Joe,” Gavin whispered and Michael smirked.

“Found it!” Burnie shouted out as he headed back towards his chair. He placed the large hardcover book on his desk and cleared his throat before opening it up.

“The haunting spell is the one that'll do just the trick for a short trip.”

“Perfect,” Gavin squealed.

Michael's eyebrows twitched together as he looked at him, but he decided not to say anything about how obnoxious that squeal had sounded.

“Hmm,” Burnie raised his hand and gently began to stroke Joe the cat as he other hand flipped through the pages.

Gavin smiled over at Michael and Michael's expression softened, especially when he felt Gavin trying to intertwine their fingers. Michael bit down on his lower lip and squeezed Gavin's hand once their fingers were locked together, and although it felt strange, he was glad he did that, because the look on Gavin's face right then was one he knew he would never forget... even after he escaped.

The snap of fingers had the two facing Burnie again.

“Alright, now watch this,” he held up a bottle and poured its liquid into the wine cup next to Joe. He then proceeded into adding in some sort of powder and what appeared to be sticks. There was a sort of fog coming out of the cup that was making Michael grow with anticipation.

“Some stirring here...” Burnie grabbed a spoon and did just that. “And its officially ready,” he held up the cup, smiling proudly down at Michael and Gavin. He was quiet after that, though, and Michael looked back and forth from him and Gavin for an answer.

“ _Okay_ , but now what?” He asked.

Burnie set the cup down and frowned, “I was _waiting_ for it to finish cooking up on its own, but since you seem to be _impatient_ ,” Michael wrinkled his nose up, but Burnie continued talking, “you're in luck, because _now_ it's officially ready.”

Michael sighed in relief quietly and steadied himself as Burnie held up the cup again.

“One more thing, though,” he said.

It took all of Michael's will power not to groan in frustration.

“What?” Gavin asked Burnie.

“When you're ready to come back, just say 'Rooster Teeth',” Burnie answered.

Gavin smiled crookedly at him, “ _Rooster Teeth_? What does that even mean?”

“Does it matter?”

“I'm just wondering, because of _all_ the words, why-”

“God damnit, Gavin. Will you _please_ just say it when you're done up there and ready to come home?”

Michael made a noise in the back of his throat and had to purse his lips tightly to prevent his laughter from coming out and Gavin gaped at him and Burnie.

“So, 'Rooster Teeth', got it?” Burnie asked them both.

Gavin stuck his tongue out at Burnie, but he did nod, along with Michael.

And Burnie smiled deviously as he simply said, “Good,” before throwing the liquid all over Michael and Gavin.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!! The last part will be out later today! :)

When Michael opened his eyes, he was met with the same forest he had been taken from earlier. He sighed in relief to see such a familiar sight, but looking over at Gavin, he could tell this sight meant so much more to him. Gavin was grinning and his eyes were scanning each inch of the scenery in front of him, especially up at the moon. Michael was going to open his mouth and say something when Gavin began to take a few steps forward, his eyes kept on staring at the moon.

“I've been in darkness so long that I forgot how amazing the moon can be,” he said in a hushed tone, but it was also filled with such awe that Michael felt the corners of his lips twitching up slightly.

Then Gavin was looking around them again before beginning to wander around a few trees, purposely stomping on the few inches of snow on the ground to see how deep his footsteps could go. Michael found that small smile on his face daring to increase, but there was one reason he had found a way of coming back, and he wasn't going to let Gavin distract him from it.

As Gavin was heading back to him, Michael placed his hands on his shoulders to hold him back and keep a decent amount of space between them.

“Alright, Gav, I have a plan,” Michael said to him.

Gavin smiled at him, “Do tell.”

“I just think I need to break this whole thing to my parents first before you go meet them; I think it'll be easier for them to accept and understand if I explained everything.”

“Ah, so you want me to wait outside?”

Michael nodded slowly, but then he shrugged, “Or you know... you can wait _here_.”

“Here?” Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“Y-yeah... I mean, I won't be long! I'll just run over to their house, tell them everything, and I'll bring them back here to meet you!” Michael knew he was using the voice he always used when he was trying to sound completely genuine about something, and if he was talking to anyone else that knew him well, they would have seen through him easily. But this was Gavin, someone who didn't actually _know_ him, so his innocent act could work with no problem.

And it certainly did, because Gavin's grin returned and he sat down on a nearby log.

“Okay, so you wait there and I'll go,” Michael said as he started taking a few steps away.

Gavin nodded, “I'll be here.”

“Yes! _You_ will! And I'll be back in no time!”

“I'm excited, Michael!”

“Yeah, m-me too...”

Gavin faced forward, practically bouncing in his seat, and Michael quickly turned around and ran off. It felt like it took him longer than it should have, but eventually, Michael was standing in front of the Tuggey residence, and it was as if weight had been lifted off of him. That weight was put right back on when he heard the voices on the other side, the ones that belonged to Lord and Lady Tuggey.

“If I _ever_ see that Jones boy again, I'll strangle him with my bare hands,” Lord Tuggey said as he twisted one of the locks on the door.

“You couldn't do that; your hands are too fat and his neck is too skinny,” Lady Tuggey told him as she twisted the other lock, securing the door completely, “You'll need a rope for that instead.”

Michael's eyes went wide at that and he jumped back from the door, because going in through that way was out of the question now. He was ready to turn around and go back home to his house to hide away from Gavin, but in his peripheral vision, an opened gate door caught his attention.

 

* * *

 

Gavin gently kicked at the snow underneath his feet as he waited... and waited... and waited.

“Psst, this is your conscience speaking,” he could hear the maggot say in his head, “I have a bad feeling about that boy-” Gavin groaned slapped the side of his head as hard as he could, making the maggot fly right out from the other side.

“Well, you don't have to be rude about it,” the maggot said as he poked his head out from the small pile of snow he had fallen into.

“I know what you're going to say, so you don't have to say it,” Gavin grumbled. He then sat up and glared at the small creature, “Michael has gone to see his parents, just like he said he would.”

“If I hadn't just been sitting in it, I'd say you've lost your mind.”

“I know he's taking so long, but I'm sure he has a good explanation for it,” Gavin turned his back towards the maggot and crossed his arms.

The maggot smirked as he noticed the unsureness on Gavin's face, “I'm sure he does. Why don't you go ask him?”

Gavin furrowed his eyebrows, but then he was standing, “Alright, I will!” He turned on his heel and started stomping in the direction Michael had left in.

“After all, he couldn't have gone that far; not with those _cold_ feet,” the maggot joked, receiving a glare from Gavin, but Gavin didn't stop to lecture him. He couldn't waste any time.

 

* * *

 

Walking through the open entrance, Michael looked up at the only window upstairs with a light on, and he swallowed hard.

“Lindsay!” He called, but not too loud that anyone else could hear him, especially not her parents.

A figure began to walk up towards the window and Michael held his breath, almost worried it wouldn't be who he wanted it to be. But then the sweetest face came into view, looking down at him with big hopeful eyes.

“Lindsay?” Michael practically breathed out and Lindsay's face brightened as she smiled. “Oh wow, Lindsay... You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

Lindsay opened her mouth to say something when she noticed the way Michael was shivering, and so, she gestured for him to climb up. Michael saw the ladder on the side of wall near her window and quickly, he started to climb it. Once at the top, he grabbed hold of her window's ledge and she grabbed his other hand to help him crawl in.

“Here, come by the fire,” she told him as she kept the grip on his hand and gently dragged him towards the fireplace. Michael happily obliged; he hadn't even realized just how cold he was until now. He stood in front of the fire and sighed as he stuck his hands out – the heat felt heavenly against his numb skin.

“Where have you been? Are you alright?” Lindsay asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine, but...” Michael trailed off, not even knowing how he could tell her everything.

“Oh, my god,” Lindsay placed her hand on Michael's shoulder and he looked at her again, “You're as cold as death. What happened to you?” Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed the rip in Michael's coat, “What _really_ happened?”

“Okay, look... it's time that I'm completely honest with you,” Michael said as he turned away from the fire to face Lindsay better, “This morning, I wasn't sure how I felt about getting married; I think I was against the entire thought of it,” he saw the way Lindsay's face fell, so he hurried on with his explanation, “No, but... but then I met you and, well, I changed my mind.”

The corners of his mouth rose slowly as he grabbed Lindsay's hands; hers as warm as the heat from the fire compared to his that were cold as ice.

“And that our wedding couldn't come fast enough.”

Lindsay was also smiling as she looked him in the eye, “Michael, I feel the same.”

Michael's smile faltered, though, when the thought of Gavin came back to mind. He let go of Lindsay's hands and looked down at his feet.

“But... Lindsay, there's something else,” his voice was so quiet.

“What is it?” She asked.

“I kind of...” Michael took a deep breath before he could go on, “I seem to have found myself... _married_ ,” he almost cringed at his own words.

“Michael,” another voice coming from the window said, and the two jumped as they turned their heads to see Gavin climbing in, “I just wanted to come meet-” but Gavin stopped talking when he looked up and saw Lindsay.

“Michael, who is this?” He asked, not taking his eyes off her.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow as she peered at Michael, “Who is he?” 

“I'm his husband,” Gavin answered her, lifting his hand to show her the ring. 

“Husband?” Lindsay's voice was barely audible enough, but she gaped at him, scanning him up and down and noticing just how rotted he appeared to be. 

“No, no, Lindsay; you don't understand,” Michael tried clarifying, but Lindsay couldn't quite comprehend his words.

“But you're dead,” she breathed out to Gavin. 

Gavin narrowed his eyes at her, but he began quickly heading over to Michael as Michael spoke. 

“Yeah, he's dead, and that's what I'm trying to tell you, Lindsay! This means noth-” but then Gavin was grabbing his arm and looking at him with the coldest stare Michael had ever seen on anyone, making it hard for Michael to find the courage to speak or move.

Gavin pulled Michael closer to him and squinted his eyes as he uttered, “Rooster Teeth.” 

Lindsay jumped back when a black, purple-like smoke began to take over Gavin and Michael.

“Michael!” She tried calling out, but it was too late; they were gone and she was left alone in her bedroom again. 

She couldn't just stand there and go over what had happened without saying a word to anyone. She ran out of there and shouted out for help, calling her mother and father, even her butler. 

“What on earth are you screaming out, Lindsay?” Her mother snapped at her as she and Lord Tuggey made their way towards her.

“Mother! It's Michael! He was here! He's married! He's married to a dead man!” Lindsay was speaking so fast, but her parents managed to understand her. 

Lord and Lady Tuggey halted in their tracks as they stared at her. 

“It's true, Mother... Father!” Lindsay ran back into her room and they followed after her. “Right there!” She pointed to the window, “The dead corpse was standing right there!” She turned to her parents, her eyes wild with panic, but they looked as baffled as ever, “Listen, you have to believe me. I was in here, talking to Michael and the corpse-”

“Michael was _alone_ with you in your bedroom?” Her mother asked, that baffled look turning into absolute horror. 

“I have to help him,” Lindsay said, ignoring her question.

“The scandal!”

Lord Tuggey sighed and walked over to his daughter, “Come here, dearie, you're shaking like a leaf.”

“Fetch her a straitjacket; she's gone completely mad!” Lady Tuggey intervened. 

“No, Mother! You don't understand,” Lindsay tried to explain, but her mother held her back as her father exited the room.

“There is _no_ such thing as the living dead,” Lady Tuggey mumbled on her way out, but when Lindsay went after them, the door slammed shut and she heard a twist of the lock.

“No!” She shouted, banging on the door, “No! Mother! Father!” But from the other side, she could hear her mother going on about how their daughter has lost it, then she heard Mr. and Mrs. Jones talking, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. 

Lindsay stepped away from the door and frantically started looking around her room. She grabbed her coat off her bed and headed to the window. There was no way she was going to go on as if nothing happened. 

 

* * *

 

“You lied to me!” Gavin yelled at Michael as soon as the black smoke disappeared and they were back in Burnie's tower. Michael wanted to roll his eyes, but he resisted the urge.

“Just to get back to that other woman!” Gavin sounded so disgusted that Michael huffed.

“Don't you get it? She's _not_ the other woman; _you're_ the other.”

“No! You're married to _me_ , so _she's_ the other,” it was evident how hard Gavin wanted to maintain his angry tone, but his last few words had cracked and he turned away to hide his face. 

Burnie shrugged. “He's got a point,” he said to Michael. 

“And I thought this was going to well,” Gavin choked out. He went to grab the ring and pull it off his finger, but he pulled a bit too hard and ended up yanking off his entire hand. 

Michael raised his eyebrow as he watched Gavin throw it behind him in frustration, though he was pleasantly surprised at how unfazed he was by this. He bent down and carefully picked the detached hand up.

“Gavin, listen,” he spoke softly, walking up to Gavin to return his hand.

“It's how easily everything falls off from me, isn't it?” Gavin asked him. He only slightly faced Michael to grab his hand back and reattached it, but he avoided eye contact. 

“What? No... Gavin, that's not it at all. I actually... think that's pretty... cool,” Michael turned away before he found himself more deep into that lie, “If this was under different circumstances, maybe, but... you're dead.”

“Well you should have thought of that _before_ you asked me to marry you!”

Michael groaned and spun around to face him, “But I didn't fucking ask you on purpose! It was an accident! I wouldn't actually marry you!” His expression immediately softened after saying that, though, especially when he saw how much he had stung Gavin with his words. 

Gavin frowned and shook his head slowly before walking around him and heading down the stairs. Michael merely watched him, feeling speechless even though he knew there was something he needed to say – anything, really, yet he said nothing as Gavin left. 

Out of the tower, Gavin grabbed the little boutonniere off his suit and looked it over in his hand. 

“Roses stand for eternal love,” he whispered to himself as he sat down on the nearby bench, “But what's the point?” He tossed the rose aside and crossed his arms. 

“What's the matter, hon?” One of the black widows asked as she made her way down towards him.

“Maybe Michael's right, Meg; maybe we are too different.”

“Or maybe he should have his head examined,” the maggot said and Gavin reached two fingers into his ear and pulled him out, “I could do it!”

Gavin furrowed his eyebrows, “ _Or_ maybe he  _does_ belong with her...  _little_ _miss_ _living,”_ he scoffed, “with her  _rosy_ cheeks and... beating heart...” he stuck out his lower lip and looked down at his feet.

“But you're so much more than that, Gav,” Meg told him, “You've got... well, you've got a wonderful personality!”

“What does that pesky little girl have that you don't?” The maggot asked.

“She can't hold a candle to the beauty of your smile,” Meg said to Gavin.

“But how about a pulse?” Gavin asked her.

“Overrated by the mile,” the maggot said.

“Overvalued,” Meg added.

“Overblown.”

“If he only the you that we know,” they both said in their sing-songy tone. 

“And that little creature doesn't have _his_ ring on her finger, does she?” Meg asked as she made her way over to Gavin's hand. 

Gavin pulled his hand away and sat back, “She still breathes air like he does.”

“Oh, Gav. You of all people should know that's so unimportant, because we are just as alive as they are. So what if we don't look it?”

Gavin considered her words and nodded, but he continued to frown, “You know... I know I don't have a beating heart, but I can still feel it aching in here,” he tapped his chest. 

“Pain is only temporary,” the maggot reminded him, “but your love with Michael is forever.”

“If only he could see how special you can be,” Meg sang. 

Gavin forced the corners of his mouth to rise as he looked at her, but it hardly lasted, “Yet it seems I still have some tears to shed.”

 

* * *

 

Lindsay came to a halt outside of the church and she didn't hesitate to knock as loudly as she could. A mere moments later, Pastor Sorola was at the door.

“Miss Tuggey? What are you doing here?” He asked her, though she ran inside without giving him an answer and he closed the door before the wind could blow in anymore leaves. 

“Oh, Pastor Sorola, you must help me!” Lindsay squeaked, wrapping her arms around herself for more warmth.

“I don't understand why you're here; you should be at home, getting ready for tomorrow, if tomorrow still happens.”

“I have to ask you something first.”

Pastor Sorola seemed beyond irritated with this unexpected visit, but he sighed and nodded, “Go on then.”

“You're the only one who knows what happens beyond the grave-”

“What a grim topic for a bride-to-be,” he interjected. 

“-It is a bride I fear, which is why I must know...” Lindsay took a deep breath and turned to face Pastor Sorola, “Can the dead marry the living?”

Pastor Sorola's eyes widened and he took a step back, “What on earth are you speaking about?”

“Please... it's Michael; he's married to a corpse! He had a corpse for a husband!” Lindsay made her towards Pastor Sorola, her eyes pleading and her hands clasped together, “Please, there _must_ be something you can do about this. We _have_ to help him!”

Pastor Sorola studied her face, trying to find some indication that she was only kidding, but there was none. 

“I think I know just what to do,” he said to her, opening his arms wide, “but you must come with me.”

Lindsay nodded and quickly headed towards the door, but Pastor Sorola grabbed her. 

“No, wait! What are you doing?!”

“I'm taking you back home, young lady. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I cannot allow it in my church.”

Lindsay tried kicking and squirming out of his grip, but he held on tightly to back of her coat and dragged her out of there without saying another word to her. 

 

* * *

 

Lady Tuggey sighed deeply at the sound of knocking at the door, but she stood up from the sofa and walked over to answer it. Lord Tuggey followed, along with their maid, and they all gasped when the door was opened and Pastor Sorola was standing on the other side, clutching Lindsay in his arms.

“Lindsay!” Lady Tuggey shrieked, her brows furrowed and hands curled into fists.

“She came to my church, speaking in tongues of unholy alliances!” Pastor Sorola explained.

“It's not true!” Lindsay protested as she squirmed again, “Let me go! Let me go!”

Lady Tuggey groaned and took her daughter from the pastor's grip, “Thank you, Pastor Sorola. Thank you very much,” she practically tossed Lindsay inside and away from her before shutting the door. 

“But I'm telling the truth!” Lindsay shouted as the maid took her hand to lead her upstairs, “Michael needs our help!” She turned to her maid, “You believe me, don't you? Oh, _please_ believe me!”

“Make sure to seal the doors and bar the windows! See to it that she can't escape again!” Lady Tuggey demanded. 

“What about Michael?! He needs our help! Mother!” Lindsay begged, but she was dragged away once again by her maid and butler, who held tight grips on her. Lindsay could have fought back, but if she was being honest with herself, she was too exhausted to try her best. 

Although Lord Tuggey wanted to say something to her, he held back and sighed in defeat.

“Will the mortification never cease?” Lady Tuggey asked. “It'll be _years_ before we can show ourselves in public again. What shall we do now?”

“We shall continue as planned, with or without Mitchell,” Lord Tuggey told her.

“Michael.”

“Whatever.”

“Why if I had a woman like your daughter on my arm,” the two turned to find Lord Haywood walking out from a room, “I would shower her in riches, befitting royalty.”

Lady Tuggey placed her hands on her chest as she sighed, “Your wife must be most fortunate.”

Lord Haywood smirked and shook his head, “I am not married,” his smirk fell and he turned away, “I was once betrothed some many years ago, but tragedy snatched my young handsome groom from me,” he stared off into the hallway, a lost look in his eyes that had Lady Tuggey frowning. 

“When one lives alone, wealth doesn't mean a thing anymore,” Lord Haywood finished. 

Then Lady and Lord Tuggey were looking at each other, devilish smiles appearing on their faces. 

Lady Tuggey looked at Lord Haywood to say, “Will you pardon us for a moment? I believe there is something my husband and I need to discuss with our daughter.”

Lord Haywood glanced over at them with a soft smile and he nodded.

“Of course.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I hope you like the ending!! It definitely isn't all the same as the movie's, so if you haven't watched the movie, I would recommend that you do, because that ending is pretty awesome. I just didn't want to completely copy it haha
> 
> Anyway, this ending can be considered kind of dark, just because it does involve death, so be weary of that. Although, there's nothing really graphic about it. It's not like "Whoa, that's gruesome." It's kind of more like "Oh, and then they died." straight to the point, pretty much. Haha, that's the best way I can describe it. Again, if you've seen the movie, you know how the death scene goes and know that it's not :O worthy. But I just wanted to put in that little warning, anyway, just in case!

Lindsay was stabbing the door with the shovel from the fireplace, and she was just about to make a deeper dent when the sound of it unlocking caused her to gasp and step back. The door flew open and revealed her smiling parents from the other side.

“The wedding is a go!” Lord Tuggey announced as he started to walk in with his wife.

Lindsay's eyes brightened, “You found Michael?”

Her mother laughed and shook her head, “Silly girl, you aren't marrying Michael anymore.”

“Then how is the wedding going on?”

“Because you will be marrying Lord Haywood.”

Lindsay dropped the shovel and paid no attention to the loud noise it made as it collapsed on the floor next to her feet. She looked back and forth between her mother and father, but she was speechless.

“It is official,” her father said, “I have approved of it.”

“But... Lord Haywood... no,” was all Lindsay could manage as she attempted to wrap her head around it.

“Oh, don't be so down, child,” her mother scolded, “He has _riches_ , more than one man needs for himself. Do you understand what that means?”

Lindsay blinked hard and looked at her, “I know what it means, but I do not care for any of that. You can't make me marry him, Mother. I do not love him.”

“As I've said before, marriage has _nothing_ to do with _'love',_ and soon, you shall learn that.”

“But Michael...”

“Michael is _gone,_ Lindsay. Please learn to accept that,” Lady Tuggey sighed and started to walk out of the room with Lord Tuggey following behind.

“Father...” Lindsay breathed out, but he paid her no attention. 

The two stood in the doorway and as Lady Tuggey grabbed the doorknob, they smiled at Lindsay and said, “According to plan!” before shutting the door. 

Lord Haywood had been standing nearby in the hallway and he watched as Lord and Lady Tuggey made their way down the other way. When he noticed they were far enough away, he chuckled and started heading in the other direction, his laugh only increasing. He came to a stop at Lindsay's portrait on the wall and crossed his arms as he admired it.

“Oh, Lindsay, don't look at me like that,” he spoke, “You will only have to suffer in this marriage until death do us part, which, you'll find, will be sooner than you expect.” He grinned as he turned away. 

 

* * *

 

It took plenty of asking around, but finally, Michael managed to track Gavin down, and he found him in the bar while it was empty, playing the piano. Michael hesitated as he stood in the doorway, though, because he didn't even know what he was supposed to say. All he knew was that he felt more than terrible about what he did say earlier. Before he had more time to think over his words, Gavin looked over and noticed him.

“Hey, Gav,” Michael said softly, “I've been looking for you. You're... pretty good at hiding,” he laughed weakly, but Gavin merely scowled at him and turned back to the piano.

Michael threw his hands up and was going to step out, but behind him was Mogar and the little dog whined as he looked up at Michael.

“I can't just walk away, can I?” Michael asked Mogar and Mogar wagged his tail in response. Michael rolled his eyes and made his way over to Gavin who had resumed playing quietly.

Michael gently pressed down on one of the keys, receiving a side glance from Gavin, but nothing else, so he pressed a few more keys, creating a tune. Gavin eyed him again and continued to play while Michael played on his side. Gavin stopped momentarily to look down and pouted, because this wasn't going to change anything, and Michael could sense what Gavin was thinking, so he sat down on the bench and stretched. The little noises he made while stretching was enough to get Gavin to look over at him with a raised eyebrow.

Michael winked at him before beginning to play his favorite song and Gavin's eyes widened when he instantly recognized it. For a moment, he just watched the way Michael played, and he saw how confident Michael was with it, so he smiled and decided to join in. Michael subtly scooted closer to Gavin as they kept on playing, trying to one-up each other as they did so, but it seemed they had the exact same amount of skills with the piano.

By the time Michael was ready for the finale, Gavin had stopped playing because he was laughing too hard and at first, Michael just stared at him, but there was something about the way Gavin laughed that made him smile.

“You're pretty good,” Gavin managed to say after he was done laughing.

“Is it so funny because I'm better than you?” Michael teased and Gavin pretended to gasp dramatically, making Michael laugh this time.

“Perhaps one day you could be almost as good as I am, but today is not that day.”

Michael opened his mouth to protest, but the doors flew open and the crowds came in, hollering something about a “new arrival”. Some of them started ringing the bells and filling up the bar within seconds. Michael and Gavin stood up from the piano to see who this “new arrival” was. The man was surrounded by the others as they greeted him, but squeezing through, Michael and Gavin were able to get to the front. Once they were there, Michael tilted his head because the man looked a little too familiar to him, but as soon as the man was staring back, Michael knew exactly who he was.

“Holy shit, Jack,” he breathed out. “Oh, man.”

“You know him?” Gavin asked.

Michael nodded, “He was my parents' coachman.” Jack just smiled and started heading towards the bar for a drink, but Michael followed.

“Uh, I'm... I'm sorry for your... death...” he hesitantly said.

“Don't be sorry, Michael. I actually feel great! Way better than I did up there.”

“Jack, man, I have to get back up there. They're all probably worried, aren't they?”

“Yeah, they are; they're all still wondering where you ran off to, and Miss Lindsay-”

“Yeah? What about her?” Michael could have slapped himself for sounding so eager.

“You see, she's actually getting married... to someone else.”

Hearing those words was like a punch to the face and Michael was just gaping at Jack, waiting for him to say it wasn't true, or that it had been some rumor he had heard, but Jack looked as serious as ever.

“She... what?”

“Yeah, well, I guess they didn't want to waste the cake or something, right?” Jack joked, and he even laughed a bit, but when he saw that Michael looked the complete opposite of amused, Jack cleared his throat and turned towards the bartender.

“How could she?” Michael asked, his voice quiet, then an arm wrapped around him and he turned to see that it was Geoff.

“Women,” Geoff slurred, “you can't live with them, you can't live without-” he hiccuped and tumbled over onto the floor from how intoxicated he was.

“It's time to pick up the pieces and move on, I suppose,” Jack said to Michael.

“Speaking of picking up the pieces,” Geoff said from the floor and the others standing around laughed, but Michael shook his head as stepped over, avoiding the many pieces of Geoff as he walked off.

“Michael? Where are you going?” Gavin asked him when Michael walked passed him, but Michael didn't stop to answer.

Gavin looked back at Jack for the answer, but Jack only shrugged and turned back to the bar, and by the time Gavin turned his head to call out for Michael, Michael was out of sight.

Not knowing anything about this underworld town, Michael wasn't sure where he was going, but he wanted to be alone and think. Was it really so bad that Lindsay found someone else already? It had only been a day and he knew he wasn't _in love_ , but he had been looking forward to just being with her. He meant what he said when he told her she made him change his mind about marriage, because she wasn't at all what he had feared she was going to be. She seemed, in his definition, perfect, but of course, he didn't deserve such perfection. Whoever she or her parents had found for her to marry, Michael was sure he was what she needed, unlike him. 

So perhaps he was going to be stuck in this world with... Gavin. But maybe that wasn't so bad. Gavin wasn't alive anymore, but Michael knew there was still a heart in there – a rather big one, too. And Gavin was also cute, even as a corpse, so really, was it so bad to be in this situation? Michael knew he could just make the best out of it if he wanted to... and he did.

He  _wanted_ to. 

Everything that had happened to him wouldn't have happened if it didn't have to. This was his destiny and he wasn't going to mop over it. If Lindsay could find happiness with someone else, so could he. 

With a deep breath, Michael stopped walking and turned back around to find Gavin again. 

It had been a crazy day and all Michael wanted to do was sleep, but he needed to talk to Gavin first. He was on his way back to the bar when he heard Gavin's voice coming from a crack in a door, then he heard Burnie's.

“I have some news to break to you,” Burnie spoke.

Michael quietly made his way up to the door and peeked inside to see the two standing in front of each other. Burnie was holding that spell book of his and had a concerned look on his face that made a bad feeling form in Michael's stomach. 

“What is it?” Gavin asked.

“The vows say “until death do you part”, and well... death has already parted you, Gav.”

“Oh, bollocks,” Gavin said under his breath, “if Michael finds out, he'll leave for sure.” He rubbed his face with his hands and looked up at Burnie, “Is there anything you can do?”

“There is one thing we can do, but it involves the greatest sacrifice... Michael would have to say goodbye to his life as a living person and join us down here permanently,” Burnie paused as he looked down at his book and flipped through the pages, “He would have to repeat his vows up in the world of the living and drink from the wine of ages.” 

Gavin gasped and looked away. “Poison,” he whispered. 

Michael's eyes widened as he continued to listen in.

“This would stop his heart forever, but only then will he able to give it to you,” Burnie explained.

Michael stepped back from the door. Okay, Gavin was cute, but he wasn't  _that_ cute, and Michael  _just_ met him... then again, he had just met Lindsay, too and he was going to marry her anyway... 

He could always have time to fall in love with Gavin later, which was what he would have done with Lindsay. 

“I can't ask Michael to do that,” Gavin said, sounding defeated as he got down on his knees. 

Michael licked his lips and told himself he might regret this, but he hated to see Gavin so devastated when Gavin had the one of the sweetest smiles he had ever had the pleasure of seeing. It was a shame to not to see it now, so he opened the door and stepped inside. 

“Good thing you won't have to, then,” he spoke, making Gavin and Burnie look over at him, “Because I'll do that without question.”

“But Michael, you do realize that if you chose this path, you can _never_ return upstairs?” Burnie asked him.

Michael nodded, “Yeah,” he looked at Gavin as he held out his hand, “I do.” 

Gavin's face lit up and he took Michael's hand to help himself get back up on his feet. 

“I'll marry you, Gav, for reals this time.”

“I thought you said you would never actually marry me.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn't thinking. Only an idiot would pass up the opportunity to be with you.”

Gavin grinned crookedly and looked down. Michael honestly couldn't ignore the way his chest warmed up because of that, so he returned the smile and held tightly onto Gavin's hand as he they started walking out of there to inform everyone else.

* * *

 

During the next week, everyone were around, preparing the grand day for Michael and Gavin while Michael and Gavin simply lied around and spent time together, because every time they tried helping, they were shooed away. Nobody seemed like they needed any help, anyway, because they were all happily doing whatever they were doing – baking the cake, finding the right things to wear, and wrapping up the wedding gifts. 

In their alone time together, Michael found how easy it was going to be around Gavin. Although there were times where Gavin would say something that made no sense that really irritated Michael, Michael found it difficult to actually stay mad at him for long. 

Sometimes they would sneak into the bar to challenge each other at the piano and see who could play better. On this particular day, the last day of wedding preparation, it ended with Michael tackling Gavin to the floor because Gavin had been purposely trying to mess Michael up by kicking him. Michael had no trouble pining Gavin and yelling at him while Gavin just laughed and squealed underneath him. 

“Why do you keep laughing, you stupid fuck?!” Michael shouted.

Gavin bit down on his lower lip and leaned up as he whispered, “Because I love you.”

Michael's expression softened, though he didn't say a thing as Gavin's lips met his for the second time since they met. Their first kiss hadn't been sweet since Michael passed out immediately when it happened, but this time, it was gentle and not so short-lived. Michael wasn't sure about kissing back since the fact that a corpse was kissing him kept running through his mind, but then he remembered that he was soon going to be just as dead relaxed him enough to return the small kiss. 

And as they pulled apart, they smiled at each other until the door to the bar opened and they were told it was time.

 

* * *

 

Lindsay tapped her fingers on the table as she and the guests listened to the speech Lord Haywood was giving – something about how proud he was that he was giving Lindsay the husband she was looking for. Lindsay could have thrown up because of all the nonsense he was spilling, though she tried smiling every time someone looked at her, but when she looked over at the window, she gasped to see a walking skeleton pass by. Her gasp had caught the guests and her parents' attentions, so they all looked over to see the skeleton and plenty of other walking dead passing by the window.

“It's the living dead!” Lindsay's aunt shrieked and suddenly, everyone was up on their feet, screaming out in horror. 

Lord Haywood paused during his speech, but he caught the glimpse of a few walking corpses that made him cringe and drop his cup of wine in fear. 

“They're here!” Someone screamed from outside.

“What are we going to do?!”

The guests inside started run around, grabbing any little thing that could be used as a weapon, but the moment the door opened and a few skeletons walked inside, they dropped the weapons and ran off to hide instead. Lord Haywood quickly hid underneath the table, almost knocking Lindsay over in the process, but she regained her balance and watched the chaos unfold in front of her. 

“Get them out! Get them out!” Lady Tuggey shouted at her butler, but the butler mainly grabbed his hat and made his way around the dead people who were now invading the house.

“You found your own way of getting them out; I'm done here!” The butler shouted back at her before running out, swiftly avoiding the corpses and skeletons entering the home.

Lady Tuggey stomped her foot and huffed, “Why the nerve of some people!”

“This has to be your fault!” Lord Tuggey yelled at her.

“ _My_ fault? I'm sure they're all from _your_ side of the family!”

“That is where you're wrong! None of them look _anything_ like me!”

“Ah, son!” They held their breaths as they turned around, “Long time no see, son! Do you happen to know where you put your best wine? I've drank all of mine.”

Lady and Lord Tuggey screamed as they ran off towards their bedroom to lock themselves in there. Lindsay continued to watch from her seat at the table as the corpses rummaged through their things, taking whatever they wanted, but not bothering to harm anyone. 

Barbara grinned as she walked up to one of Lindsay's other aunts, “Oh my gosh. I  _love_ your hat. Can I wear it?” Lindsay's aunt shielded her face, but Barbara continued to speak, “You see, I'm going to a wedding right now and I think your hat would look  _amazing_ with this dress I decided to wear. So... do you mind if I-” She didn't even get to finish her question, because Lindsay's aunt took her hat off and tossed it at Barbara before running off. 

Barbara caught the hat and placed it on her head, feeling giddy as can be as she caught sight of herself in a mirror on the wall. 

“I'm done here!” She sang out as she skipped her way towards the door, and it seemed like the others were, too, for all they all followed right after her. 

As soon as the house was emptied out by both the dead and her guests, Lindsay kicked the side of the table, getting a scream out of Ryan.

“You can come out now,” she told him, “They're all gone.”

Ryan made his way out from under the table and he stood up, brushing off his clothes and sighing loudly. 

“We have to get out of here now,” he said sharply, “We'll grab whatever money we can and leave.”

Lindsay furrowed her eyebrows as she looked up at him, “Money? What money?”

“Why, yours, of course. It belongs to me as well!”

“But my parents don't have any money. It was my marriage to you that was going to save them from the poor house.”

“The... the poor house?!”

The corners of Lindsay's lips rose as she got up from her seat, “Oh, my, Lord Haywood, did things not go according to your plan?”

Ryan snarled at her and she lifted her head high.

“Well, in disappointment, we are both well matched then, aren't we?” Though she didn't wait for him to answer as she turned away and quickly headed out of there. 

As Michael and Gavin's guests made their way towards the church, the citizens of the town cowered in fear, but the dead were avoiding them... that is, until Geoff recognized one woman in particular. She was much older than him, at least now she was, but Geoff could never forget that face. He started making his way towards despite the fact that she had a sort of weapon to defend herself. 

“Wait, where are you going?” Ray asked him, but Barbara started to push him away so they could continue their walk towards the church. 

Geoff held his hand out towards the woman and she swung at him.

“No, wait!” He shouted as he dodged her hits, “It's me!”

“I have no idea who you are, but you better stay the hell away from me or I'll send you back to where you came from!” The woman snapped at him.

“No! Griffon! It's _me_.”

Griffon stopped swinging as the voice finally registered to her, “... Geoff?”

Geoff smiled at her and nodded, “Yes, Griffon. It's me... it's Geoff.”

“Oh, Geoff, you've been dead for almost ten years.”

Geoff wrapped his arms around her, “Frankly, my dear, I do not care,” and he held her tightly against him. 

As the others reached the church, Pastor Sorola came running out of the door and started to shout at them, “Be gone, you demons! Back to the void from where you came from! You are  _not_ allowed here! You are  _not_ allow-”

“Hey, man,” Ray cut him off, “Keep it down; we're in a church. That's disrespectful,” and he, along with everyone else, simply made their way inside. 

Pastor Sorola couldn't even argue against them, so he stepped aside and out of their way, only gaping as he watched them fill up his church. 

Michael took his place in front of aisle as Burnie began to set up the table. The piano player began to play as Gavin entered the church, that smile on his face that Michael had grown to adore. And looking at him now, walking down the aisle, Michael sighed happily and grinned. Burnie looked back and forth between them and smiled as well. 

Once Gavin was by his side, he and Michael turned to face Burnie. 

“Dearly beloved, and departed,” Burnie started, “we are gathered here today to join this man and this corpse in marriage.” 

Lindsay had followed the crowd up to the church and she gasped when she saw the Michael standing up there with the corpse from the other day. 

“Michael?” She spoke softly, but Ray hushed her from his seat and she quietly apologized. As she listened to Michael say his vows, she hurried over to an empty seat and sat down to watch. 

“... Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine,” and it was the way Michael looked at the corpse as he said those words that made Lindsay smile. He was looking at Gavin as if he was all he could see at that moment and it was exactly what Lindsay had always imagined love to look like. And even though this was crazy and she had a feeling she knew what was in that bottle of wine, she still smiled, because Michael, in the oddest way, had found someone that made him happy. 

And one day, she knew she would, too, but it wasn't going to be with Michael, and she was okay with that. 

“Oh, how touching!” 

Everyone turned their heads to see Lord Haywood making his way inside. Lindsay narrowed her eyes at him and was ready to jump up and push him out for ruining the final moment in the vow exchange. 

“I always cry at weddings,” Ryan said as he “wiped” his tears and stood right next to where Lindsay was sitting.

Michael gasped when he noticed Lindsay and Gavin gasped when he noticed Ryan.

“I had a wedding earlier this week,” Ryan went on, “but it went down the drain, especially because I got _nothing_ out of it,” he glared as he looked down at Lindsay. 

“That's not my fault,” Lindsay told him as she got up, “And you are very rude. They,” she pointed to Michael and Gavin, “were just about to finish and you interrupted them!”

“You really approve of this wedding? This wedding between a corpse and the man you were originally supposed to marry?” 

“More than I approve of you and what you did.”

“Well, I'll tell you one thing, Lindsay; I am not leaving here empty handed.”

“It's _you!”_ Gavin spat, getting Ryan to look over at him again, and this time, Ryan _really_ looked at him. 

“ _Gavin_?” Ryan asked as he blinked hard, but yes, it was Gavin; it was exactly who he thought it was, “But I... I left you.”

Gavin squinted his eyes as he stared at him, “Yeah, to die.”

Everyone sitting down gasped and Geoff's jaw even broke apart – the piece landing on Ray's lap. Ryan shook his head and smirked as he started making his way towards Gavin. Gavin grabbed Michael by the wrist and pulled him behind him.

“Aw, I wasn't going to hurt him, Gavin,” Ryan assured him.

“I wouldn't take any chances with you.”

“I only came to collect my wife, but I guess since now I know _exactly_ whose wedding this is, there's no harm in congratulating you two,” as Ryan stood right in front of Gavin, Gavin took a step back, shielding Michael even more.

“So, he's the asshole?” Michael asked Gavin.

“Yep, that's him.”

“Asshole?” Ryan asked, looking as if he was honestly offended, “There's no need for name calling.” Though he snickered and picked up the cup of wine from the table. 

Burnie opened his mouth, but Ryan held up his hand to stop him from speaking, and Burnie scoffed. 

“A toast to the newly weds, especially to this stupid man who is really going to give up his life to be with a pathetic _dead_ guy like Gavin,” Ryan said as he held up the cup. 

Lindsay raised an eyebrow, because if she had been right about what was in that wine, then... 

“May you live happily ever after,” Ryan told them before downing the entire cup in one gulp.

Gavin covered his mouth to hide his smile as did Michael, and soon enough, Ryan's eyes were wide and he was clutching his chest. 

Barbara and Ray stood up from their seats and they made their way over to Ryan who was seeming to struggle with getting any air.

“Is that a new arrival I see, Ray?” Barbara asked.

“I think it is, Barb,” Ray said as he smiled deviously at Ryan, “Hey, welcome buddy.”

“We're going to have so much fun.”

“N-no!” Ryan managed to choke out before everything went black. 

Michael and Gavin stepped aside as Barbara and Ray pulled the dead man out of the way as everyone else cheered. Michael turned back to where Lindsay had been sitting to find her walking towards him.

“You know, killing yourself to marry someone is kind of weird,” she said to him, her voice giving off a teasing tone.

Michael breathed out a laugh, “Yeah, well...” He scratched the back of his head. 

“Congratulations, Michael,” she then looked at Gavin and lifted her hand to pinch his cheek, “You found yourself a really cute one.”

Gavin couldn't even stop himself from smiling widely at her.

“I'm sorry about the last time we met,” he told her.

“Hey, no apologies. I would be mad, too, if some girl was trying to steal my man.”

“He was supposed to marry you, and maybe, he still should,” Gavin said as he looked at Michael, but Michael widened his eyes. 

“No, he shouldn't,” Lindsay told him, and Gavin gave her a questioning look, “because we're not in love with each other, but I saw the way he was looking at you earlier, and I can tell that he's slowly starting to fall in love with you.”

Gavin smiled over at Michael, “You are?”

Michael swallowed the lump in his throat, “Maybe? I don't know, Gav. This all happened so suddenly and I... I do think I can be. I wouldn't just fucking kill myself for anyone, you know?”

Lindsay grabbed their hands and intertwined their fingers together before looking up at Burnie, “Could you please move this along?” 

Michael's eyebrows twitched together, but when he locked eyes with Gavin, he smiled. Lindsay turned away from them and returned to her seat in the back as Burnie proceeded. Michael wasn't going to lie, he was more nervous than ever, but as he felt Gavin's hand in his, he knew it would be okay as soon as it was over and they standing around in that bar again. So when Burnie poured another cup of wine for him, Michael picked it up and took his last breath.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you guys had a fun Halloween! I just stayed home and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas AND The Corpse Bride, actually!! Even some Once Upon A Time episodes, so yeah, it was a good night. :)


End file.
